Why Do People Give? Testing Pure and Impure Altruism

S-Tier
Journal: American Economic Review
Year: 2017
Volume: 107
Issue: 11
Pages: 3617-33

Score contribution per author:

2.681 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Researchers measure crowd-out around one level of charity output to identify whether giving is motivated by altruism and/or warm-glow. However, crowd-out depends on output, implying first that the power to reject pure altruism varies, and second that a single measurement of incomplete crowd-out can be rationalized by many different preferences. By instead measuring crowd-out at different output levels, we allow both for identification and for a novel and direct test of impure altruism. Using a new experimental design, we present the first empirical evidence that, consistent with impure altruism, crowd-out decreases with output.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aecrev:v:107:y:2017:i:11:p:3617-33
Journal Field
General
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-29